Harmony
by Loki Milano
Summary: When River Song plans a surprise visit to her family things don't go quite according to plan.
1. Chapter 1

The snow was falling heavily throughout the town. The sky was the palest grey, and you couldn't look up for long without your vision being blurred by damp, icy snowflakes. Lights glittered in the trees and houses, and wreaths were hung on a lot of home doors. It was about ten in the morning and as you weaved through the streets and cul-de-sacs, there were children everywhere, snowball fighting and building snowmen. They were all wrapped up in their best winter jackets, a rainbow of scarves and hats served to accompany their happy shouts and laughter. It was through these scenes, keeping her distance, that a woman with masses of curly blonde hair walked. She was dressed like everyone else for the weather, wrapped in a fleece lined denim jacket, with knee-high boots over her jeans. She was thoroughly enjoying being surrounded by so many people after being alone for so long. Even if she didn't know them, it was a comfort to her that they were there. There was a particular house she was looking for though. She had come to pay her family a surprise visit. She paused when she came to the far end of a park that divided a square of terrace townhouses. She looked across the groups of children and parents to a grey-painted house with a bright red car parked in front of it. Her face brightened and she sped up, dodging through everybody. As she was nearing the other side, she stopped, catching sight of somebody else approaching that house. It was a young girl, perhaps seven. She had fiercely wavy dark brown hair, and was wrapped in a red woollen jacket, with a white hat covering her head, and a matching scarf and gloves. She knocked on the door as her watcher ducked behind an abandoned snowman as the blizzard let up.

"Jamie!" called the child, "Come on! We're missing out!"

She seemed to have heard some movement in the house and she stood on the doorstep, folding her arms impatiently and tapping her foot. The door opened and a very familiar woman wrapped up in a turtle neck opened it.

"Hi Auntie Amy!" greeted the girl brightly, "Is Jamie ready yet?"

"Yes, he's just…" The woman was cut off as a red-haired boy ducked under her arm, hopping around on one foot as he wrestled with his wellington boots, "…coming."

"Hey!" the boy gave his friend a huge grin, he was missing one of his front teeth.

"Did you sleep in again?" The girl scolded.

"Only cause I stayed up to say night to my daddy!" protested Jamie as he stood up straight. His mother wrapped his scarf around him as he fidgeted.

"I told you not to keep doing that Jamie," sighed Amy.

"But mummy! He's been real busy with work."

"You'll get to see him tonight though¸ and my daddy too!" the girl had the hugest of smiles on her face.

"Yes, you will. But I want you both back for lunch, understand? If you stay out too long you'll get ill."

"I never get ill," the girl practically preened.

The two children ran towards the park in which the woman was standing, and Amy sighed and shook her head with a retired smile. All trace of happiness had left the bystander's face. A heavy knot of loneliness sank into her stomach. Jamie. Amy and Jamie. A bit clichéd, but that wasn't what had kicked her in the teeth. She had a brother, and he had no idea that she existed. He was growing up with his parents, he had a best friend. He got to play outside in the snow. So lost in her thoughts was the woman, that she barely noticed when the two children practically ran her over, chasing each other with snowballs. They were shrieking with laughter, Jamie managed to catch his friend in the face with one of them and she lost her balance, crashing into the snowman by her feet, Jamie kept running ahead.

"Jamie! You are so dead!"

The girl picked herself up and brushed herself off, then suddenly realised that a woman was watching her. She looked around her and the woman visibly saw the penny drop. The girl turned to her, and, much to her surprise, looked wholly guilty.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she apologised, "I didn't mean to wreck your snowman!" her tone changed from penitent to annoyed, "Jamie! Get back here right this minute! You need to say sorry too!"

"Huh, what?" Jamie hadn't realised what had been going on behind him until he walked back to join them.

"You made me break this lady's snowman!"

Jamie's face flushed with embarrassment and he looked down, "Sorry lady."

The woman wasn't quite sure how to react to such polite children, "Um, that's ok. I wasn't…"

"We'll help you build it up again! We'll make it better," cut in the girl, "_Right_ Jamie?"

Jamie still didn't look up as he nodded, "Yea¸ ok."

"Go get some stones for the eyes," instructed his companion.

The blonde watched with amusement as the mortified young boy immediately ran off to follow his instructions. So much like his dad. She hadn't planned on intruding after seeing what she had at the door, but she noticed a small amount of warmth was staving off her disappointment and isolation. She had never gotten to do anything like this growing up.

"We'll make it great, promise," the girl grinned, "My name's Zara, what's yours?"

"Didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?" queried her acquaintance,

Zara shrugged, "Yea, but you don't look strange, and if anyone tries to kidnap my friend I'll punch them."

The woman laughed, "My name's River."

"Right, now you're my friend too," grinned Zara, "So if anyone tries to kidnap you I'll punch them as well."

The sentiment rang loudly in River's head and heart. She forced her eyes not to well up as she was stalked once again by the 'what ifs' that so often haunted her. If only someone had saved her…she could be waiting up for her dad or running around with her playmates. But then, she wouldn't be her. Her reverie was interrupted by the sudden feeling of wool enveloped her freezing hand. She looked down, startled, and found Zara holding it in both of hers. She met with surprise warm gold-brown eyes as they looked at her. Through her even.

"You ok River? You looked real sad. I'll make it better, ok? We can build your snowman and you can play with us, sound good?"

River smiled, "Sounds great."

"Hm, you're really cold already. Here," Zara let go of River's hand and undid the knot on her scarf, holding it out to River, "I have my gloves and hat, so I'll be ok." She stood on her tiptoes to wrap it a little wonkily around River's neck and smiled.

A moment later Jamie came back with an armful of stones And the two children immediately started gathering up handfuls of snow and rebuilding the base of the snowman. They were talking and laughing as they did so, and Zara made every effort to include River in the exchange. She eventually decided to start helping out, and crouched down to meet the children's height, helping them to build up their pile and smooth the edges over. After a little while, another group of three or four children who had seen what happened and knew the pair from school or because they were neighbours came over to offer their services.

From her kitchen window, Amy could see the bright red of Zara's coat so she knew exactly where they were. She loved to see her boy surrounded by so many friends. He had always been quite shy and quiet around everyone except Zara since he was at nursery school. But gradually she had chipped away at him and persisted, until he was bright and confident. She noticed a woman helping the children and assumed she was one of the other's parents. But as she watched more closely she couldn't beat the feeling that she seemed familiar,

"Is that…?" she frowned, "Nah. Can't be."

She turned away, unaware that the woman had caught her looking and was still staring up at the window.


	2. Chapter 2

Finished. Red-cheeked and damp with snow, River, Zara and Jamie looked proudly up at their creation, they had brushed off a park bench and were sitting on it. The other children admired it too, but it was now getting to the time where parents were calling their offspring in for lunch. One by one they drifted away until it was just the three of them left. River had never felt so content before, apart from when she was with her husband. But a husband wasn't quite the same as a friend. She laughed at herself, calling two children she had spent only a couple of hours with her friends. They were so sweet, so innocent. They had no idea what she had done, what she had seen. She had to stop herself jumping as the cold little Jamie leaned his head on her shoulder. She looked down at him, and realised he was observing Zara, who was frowning in thought.

"Something up Zara?" asked Jamie,

"Something's missing…" pondered Zara. She put her hand in her pocket, and her face lit up as she jumped to her feet, "Got it!"

She bounded forward and grabbed whatever she had seen from inside her coat. River couldn't quite believe what it was. It looked just like her sonic screwdriver. It was clearly plastic, but still strange to see. Zara used an old hair tie to attach it to the snowman's stick arm.

"Perfect."

"Jamie! Zara!" Amy's voice called as the blizzard started up again, "Come on in before you freeze!"

Jamie perked up immediately and started running over to the house. Zara started to join him, but stopped a few paces away and turned to River, "We can play again after we've eaten, ok?"

River nodded, "It's a deal."

Zara went to join Amy and Jamie, and from a distance there voices became quieter and quieter.

"Zara, where's your scarf?" Amy.

"Lost it."

As the whirlwind of snowflakes picked up again, River watched the two of them go. She had genuinely had a lovely time with them. Then she noticed something a little peculiar. The snowman they had just built was also looking at the Ponds' door. River was convinced it had been facing the other way. Looking around, she noticed every other ice man in the park, no matter where they were, were also staring at that one door. That was…odd. Even more disconcerting though, as the warmth of fear spread through River's body, was when their sculpture, turned its icy gaze towards her. Literally. River sprung off the seat in alarm as the snowman's body shifted to face her, swivelling on its base. Before she really knew what was happening dozens of the things started sliding towards her, closing in.

"Oh you are _joking_!"

From out of nowhere the snowman developed limbs and claws and they snatched at her as she turned tail and ran. She desperately reached for her holster, only to find out it was empty. Of course, her father didn't approve of guns in the house. Fantastic. She blindly kicked out at one of them and it crumbled. She let out a short victorious laugh, until its neighbours slid over the pile, snapping up extra ammunition and growing in size.

"Damn."

As she wrestled her sonic screwdriver out of her pocket there was a terrific roar behind her. Wondering what on earth was joining in the snowman's foray she spun around and pointed her weapon at a large grey wolf. Much to her astonishment the wolf was bashing away the encroaching icemen and clearing her a path. Without a second thought she ran through it, hot on the wolf's tail. They ran further until River found herself barrelling through the front door of a neat little cottage which she slammed after them.

"What the hell was that?"

"The Guardians."

River had no idea where the voice had come from, the only other living thing in the room was the wolf which she stared at. "What?"

Right before her eyes the wolf started reshaping, into a man, about the same age that she appeared. He was quite thick set, broad shouldered with dark brown hair and pale violet eyes. At at least six and a half feet tall, he completely dwarfed her and she hesitated, wondering whether to step backwards away from him or not.

"My instinct says werewolf, my intellect says not."

"Your intellect would be right."

"What are you, and why are you here?"

"I'll take those as politer questions than they sounded."

"I just got chased by snowmen. I'm hardly in the mood for manners."

"That's a fair point." he offered her his hand, "Anders Conrad."

River took the offered hand, shaking it, "River Song."

"You're frozen. Take a seat, I'll get you some tea."

Anders disappeared through the door at the top of the corridor. River took the chance to finally gather her bearings and look around. The first thing she noticed was how warm the, cottage was. It smelled of old books and wood smoke. The corridor she stood in had solid wooden floors and matching panelling to about waist height. The wallpaper above that was a warm pale orange. By the door she noticed a coat and shoe rack. On it were various garments that clearly belonged to Anders and those of a small girl. No women though. She wandered through the door to her right and found herself in what was clearly the living room. The carpet was thick and soft, a slightly faded dark red. A real fire sat in the hearth with a pile of logs beside it, it was dark grey slate. Above it on the mantelpiece were picture frames of Anders life, going from him as a small child with his parents, and what she assumed were his brother and sister. They ended up at the far right with Anders as he was now and a small girl. River's eyes widened slightly when she realised the small girl was the one she had met earlier. It was then that Anders returned holding two mugs of something that gave off the scent of warm milk and spices.

"Chai," explained Anders as he passed one of the mugs to River. It was pink with a ladybird on it, clearly a child's. "Sorry, that's my girl's. Only warm drink she'll have." he smiled a little, embarrassed. "We normally go out to people instead of them coming here."

River nodded and smiled, "That her?" she blew on her drink and motioned her head to the most recent photo.

Anders nodded, puffing up his chest slightly, a proud grin on his face, "Yes, that's my Zara. My whole world that one."

"I can tell." she was unsure whether or not to admit that she had spent the morning playing with Anders' daughter.

"It's ok. I saw you earlier," he said reassuringly, "She really seems to like you. A nice change."

"Change?" River was confused, "But she was laughing and talking to everybody earlier."

Anders nodded, "She grew up here, knows everybody and their dog. Sometimes literally. She's very protective, especially of her friend Jamie. Normally she'll test newcomers before fully accepting them. But you dodged that bullet."

"Well, lucky me."

Anders laughed, "You have no idea."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

The pair of them sat down on a red and white sofa that matched the carpet. River sank down into it, unbelievably comfortable. Only now she had stopped using them did she realise that her legs were starting to ache, a mixture of cold and running. As she looked above the fireplace, she felt another sinking thud in her stomach as it knotted up, her good humour vanished. It was a portrait, a typical family portrait. But it starred her parents, sitting down, next to Anders. He held a very young Zara, perhaps two years old, on his lap. Jamie was sitting on her mother's. Anders caught her gaze.

"That's Amy and Rory, they live just the other side of town. When I moved here with Zara when she was a baby, they took us in, showed us around. The two children grew up together and it didn't take long for us to become like a family, strange little mix that we were."

"What a lovely story." River responded blankly.

"Are you alright?" queried Anders, catching her tone.

River nodded, immediately straightening up. "Yes, fine. Just concerned. Tell me about these Guardians?"

A fleeting concern passed over Anders' face. "They've been around for a while."

"Do they attack everyone on sight then or just me?"

Anders shrugged, "It depends."

"On what?"

"What they see as a viable threat to the time-space continuum. They're largely docile, but if something arrives that could mess up the time streams. They were installed just after everything went...wonky."

"What do you mean wonky?"

"It started imploding, everything happened at once."

"You can remember" that?"

"Yes. I'm not exactly your everyday human being."

"Clearly. What are you then?"

"You mean you haven't worked it out yet?"

"I think I have. But my conclusion is unlikely."

"Probably right then. I'm from Theria."

"Theria? But, that place, it's a ghost town. I studied it doing my Doctorate. When The Civil War broke out...it essentially imploded...so how are you, here?"

"That's a story for another time."

River agreed with him. If The Guardians had woken up because they thought time was threatened, what was threatening it? The first thing she knew she had to do was warn Amy and Rory, especially as both children were with them. She wondered why Anders seemed less concerned about their safety, especially as one of the people in question was Zara. He seemed to realise this but was reluctant to comment on it, until River stared at him expectantly.

"The Guardians are no threat to Zara, or Jamie…it's them they're protecting. Though I don't know why."

"But how do you know it's them?"

"Because you were only attacked after they left."

He had a good point there. If they truly were protecting the children from something, surely they would only trigger when they were out of harm's way. But River had made her mind up. If there was something around that was threatening either of them, she would find and stop it, snowmen chasing her or no. Anders saw the look in her eye and knew he could do nothing but perhaps keep her company and take some of the collateral. He was tempted to smile, so much like Viola. He knew they would have gotten on. River sprang up, disturbing his thoughts,

"I have a screwdriver, you're a shape shifter. Let's go."

Go they did. They braced themselves against the cold, stepping outside. Snowflakes were skittering to the ground, covering previously made tracks, but so far they were alone, save a few pedestrians. That was stranger than being chased by snowman. It was far too peaceful, and that was never a good thing. As they trekked the path back towards the Ponds' house, both River and Anders were increasingly on edge. To the point of them jumping in unison when they saw Jamie and Zara quite happily watching the snow fall from the same kitchen window Amy had been watching them from earlier. Though they tried to stay discreet, they soon saw the door to the house open, and the two children waved cheerfully at them, calling across the park,

"River! Daddy!" the girl would have run outside to greet them had Amy not stopped her by pointing out she had no shoes or coat on.

Anders and River exchanged a look. There was heaviness in the air, an expectation of sorts. But for the sake of the children they played it down. The last thing they needed was to alarm two perfectly innocent youngsters. They gradually made their way across the snow-covered ground, and it started. The ground shook violently as hoards of snowmen and women came to life, all rushing towards the exposed pair. There were shouts of alarm from people in the houses, and as they were surrounded by a mass of raging ice, Amy had to physically restrain Zara to give them a chance to fight them off without risking her safety.

"Knock it off, we're not a threat!" River yelled at them.

Between them the newly reformed Anders, now once more a wolf, battled against them. He managed to clear a path to the two children, maybe if The Guardians saw he was not trying to hurt them they would stop chasing him. As he reached his girl he hugged her protectively and they did indeed relent. He called over to River, who was attacking the creatures as soon as she had beaten down one.

"River! Stop fighting them! Get out of there!"

It did no good. The creatures went into a frenzy now she was standing alone. In unison, both Amy and Zara broke away from the house to try and help her, the younger shifting quickly out of her father's grip.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Zara,

"Get your hands off my daughter!" cried Amy in chorus.

It was hard to see what exactly happened next but to Jamie and Anders it looked as though their words got through, for the snowmen stopped as soon as they joined in the foray. Then there was a terrific crack, and all three of them disappeared as the ground went from beneath their feet. They tumbled down into the darkness, a sea of snow following them. Anders and Jamie ran over to where they had been, but there was no sign of anything wrong with the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

As Amy opened her eyes, she slowly and blurrily focused in on River, who was still out cold a few feet away. Her head was pounding, and she realised she must have hit it when they fell. She sat up, reaching over to shake River's shoulder. She gradually stirred, and was still wobbling slightly as she pushed herself up on to her knees.

"Ouch." She complained,

"You alright?" asked Amy,

River nodded, "I'm ok. Zara?" when there was no response her instincts went on red alert, "Zara?"

Both River and Amy scrambled up, looking all about them. As River coaxed a torch from her pocket into working, they had no idea where they were. It was some kind of cavern, the floor and walls were dark stone dripping with water and it was freezing cold. Looking up there was no hint of the crack they had fallen through. Zara was nowhere to be seen. In tandem the two of them called out for the girl, but they got no response. They heard the muffled notes of voices a little ways down and decided that would be the best way to go. They walked in silence for a little while, every now and then calling for the child. Amy turned to River,

"Why didn't you come and see us?" asked Amy,

"Why did you hide my brother from me?" responded River.

The atmosphere was awkward when Amy was lost for an answer. She stayed in place a moment as River walked on. She was overjoyed to see her, but she could tell her daughter was angry and worried and had no idea what would make her feel better.

"Zara!" shouted River as she disappeared round a bend in the tunnel, and Amy ran to catch her up.

The sound of voices was getting significantly closer but still there was no sign of the third part of their trio. They were so lost in thought that Amy didn't notice an obstacle on the floor and yelped as she fell forward, landing with a painful bang. River instinctively offered a hand to help her out although she was still in a less than favourable mood. They turned to look at what had tripped Amy and couldn't quite believe it. A ball of white fur yawned and stretched as an arctic fox looked up at them. It leapt quite happily towards them with a yip. River peered down at it,

"Zara?"

In front of Amy's disbelieving eyes, the fox stretched and changed shape, reforming into a seven year old girl with bare feet, who shivered as the cold air hit her. River and Amy instinctively reached out to hug her and she found herself quite dwarfed by them as they enveloped her.

"I'm glad I found you!" she said cheerily,

"Glad _you_ found _us?_" Amy raised a good-natured eyebrow.

"Yep. When I came round neither of you were anywhere to be seen, so I figured I'd keep warm and stay in place. I knew you'd follow the voices like I did."

"Hang on though," pondered Amy, "We fell through the same crack. How did we end up in different places?"

"Teleport. Got to be a teleport," answered River. "A slightly worn one I would imagine, considering it couldn't keep more than two people to the same co-ordinates."

Amy nodded and turned to Zara, "Oh, before I forget. You're a fox now?"

"Come on Auntie Amy, you know about my dad, why are you so surprised?" Zara was genuinely confused,

"Well, yes, but he said the whole shape shifting thing doesn't kick in until adolescence. Kind of like alien puberty."

"Ew. Not something I want to think about thank you…" the girl pulled a face.

"It doesn't kick in early unless the process is overwritten by survival instincts." River explained,

"How come everybody but me knows about this?" Amy protested,

River looked at her and shrugged, "I took a module on ancient alien civilisations."

Her mother gave her a look, "But you're an archaeologist. Not an astronaut."

"I'm a time-and-space-travelling archaeologist from the 51st Century. I'm kind of both." Amy shrugged as if to say 'fair point'.

As Zara tried to hide her shivering, River took off her coat and without a word wrapped it around the girl's shoulder. The three of them carried along the tunnel, hoping to find a way out of sorts, although it was risky they decided following the voices would be their best bet. If they were friends or enemies they would adjust their manner accordingly. Things were still tense between Amy and River, and they flanked Zara, who was all too aware of the awkwardness that surrounded her. It was scarier to her than the thought of what was awaiting them. Suddenly River stopped dead, causing the girl to stumble into the back of her. Seeing the frozen spectacle in the middle of the tunnel, Amy paused too.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Listen." hissed River.

They did, and they heard nothing. Absolutely nothing. The voices had stopped. In a flash there was a great high-pitched roar as they were cornered into the middle of a ring of great stick-insect like creatures. They stood at a good eight feet tall and their antennae twitched towards them. They emitted a series of clicking like sounds. As they closed in on them River whipped out a gun from the ankle holster hidden by her jeans and Amy grabbed Zara close to her, standing in front of her protectively. River fired a shot and one of the creatures screamed, falling to the floor. Thick green liquid sprayed out of the wound and as the drops landed, the stone began to burn and hiss.

"Acidic blood. Great. River, maybe put that gun away."

In a rush of movement the three found themselves grabbed by the creatures, Zara kicked and screamed to get away from them, but she was so slight her efforts were easily quelled. The older women had little success, beating away the initial one or two that got too close. However, slightly smaller brown creatures had joined the fray from nowhere. They spat out some kind of yellow-green smoke and their heads began to swim as a feeling of nausea enveloped them. Zara watched, terrified as they slumped to the ground and were easily picked up and carried alongside her. She couldn't believe her ears as she heard one of their captors speak,

"The small one?" asked one of the brown insects in a gruff, deep voice.

"She is no trouble," one of the black ones, obviously female.

The child struggled, willing herself to change shape, something that could get away, but the black stick insect she had heard speaking rapidly caught up with her, "I wouldn't do that if you value your associates, Therian."

Zara stopped immediately. So, they knew what she was, but she was none the wiser as to what was carting her away.


	5. Chapter 5

Anders was beside himself, and Jamie was sniffing and sobbing with fear when he was picked up by the man and taken back into the Pond's house. He had just seen his mother and best friend swallowed by the ground, because of a woman they had only just met. It was her he blamed. He knew how caring and friendly Zara was towards anyone, he himself very rarely trusted people he had just met. He had had "Stranger Danger" drilled into him from a young age, threaded with tails of aliens and monsters that emphasised how dangerous things could actually be. He hung on every single word of warning, whereas Zara always asked questions, wanted to know more. The thought of new and mysterious things delighted her. It was always Zara that he felt safe with though. She stood up for herself and him, and even though Jamie tried he never had that courage. He was a sensitive, shy child. Did what he was told. The only times he tried anything new was with Zara at his side and his parents nearby.

"How do we save them Uncle Anders?" he sniffled, wiping his face with the sleeve of his jumper, "We have to save them!"

"I don't know yet Jamie, but believe you me, we will get them back," sighed Anders.

"Daddy! We should tell him, he'll know what to do."

"I've already called him, he's on his way." Calling Rory was the first thing he had done, two heads were better than one. Especially when one was a time-traveller and the other an alien. Not to mention, where family was involved there was no greater asset than a fellow father.

"And why did mummy call that woman her daughter?"

Anders paused at this point, "That's for your parents to tell you. I wouldn't be able to explain it well."

For the second time in one day Amy woke up having no idea where she was, except in a giant brass bird cage. The room they were in was brightly lit, and looked like nothing short of the throne room in an Arabian temple. It was richly decorated in gold and scarlet, with marble floors, wine-red walls and gilded mirrors and paintings everywhere. She was sat on a raggedy and threadbare cushion. Across the other side of the cage she saw River, sitting and hugging her knees with her back to Amy. However, what alarmed her more was the quiet noises she heard every now and then. She was trying to smother the sound, but River was crying. Amy's first instinct was to go over and comfort her, but she felt like it would be intruding. If it had been Jamie she would know exactly what to do, but she only knew her daughter as a baby for a little while, then an adult. How did you comfort an adult exactly? Especially one that had been through so much. She didn't even know who this River was, which timeline, she didn't know what she had been doing at all. As luck would have it though, she needn't have fretted long. From the other side of their prison, Zara stood up quietly, and slowly walked over. She didn't um and ah and hesitate like Amy.

"River?" the girl said quietly. Neither of them had realised Amy was awake, once again she found herself watching instead of participating. River sat up straight with shock, she had no idea she had been caught and wiped her face as quickly as she could but it was already too late. Zara sat up close next to her, "It's ok to cry you know, I won't tell anybody,"

River smiled but her voice was croakier than normal, "No, I imagine you wouldn't, doesn't make it any less embarrassing."

"Well that's just silly. It's only human to be upset sometimes, and it isn't healthy to hide it,"

River couldn't hide a slight chuckle, "Says the seven year old alien,"

"Exactly. If even I know that it has to be true, right?" River couldn't deny the logic of that. "But really, what's wrong? You've seemed sad since I met you and there's something going on between you and Auntie Amy. Don't say I wouldn't understand, I'm smarter than people realise. I understand everything that my dad, Auntie Amy and Uncle Rory say. Other adults too. They don't think I do because I never let on because then they stop being honest. They forget that I'm not just another kid,"

"I knew since I first met _you_ that you're some kind of genius prodigy. Even so though, I shouldn't be piling my problems onto a child."

There was a long pause whilst Zara thought up a response to that. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, but wasn't sure how to phrase it. In the end, she thought the simplest way would be best, "They didn't hide Jamie from you."

Magic words. Even Amy got a tightness in her chest as her nerves brimmed to the surface, she gulped as she tried to inhale more air to offset the breathlessness that overtook her. How had a child managed to cut through all the surrounding chaos and implications and get straight to the point? Better than any adult. How did she know? Amy wondered if she had overheard them speaking when they tried to find her, hiding until the point they caught up with her. But then she considered herself at that age. There was none so perceptive and honest as a human child.

"How did…?" River was astonished, embarrassed even. She lived her life lying and dodging and keeping secrets, and a girl she had only met earlier in the day had seen straight through her.

Zara sighed and looked down, "They didn't. Look, don't tell them because I'll be in trouble, but I heard them talking."

"Heard who?"

"Daddy and Auntie Amy,"

"When?"

"It was about a week ago. It was pretty late but I couldn't sleep. I left my room to go and sit with my dad, because he always reads by the fire before bedtime. But I heard someone knocking on the door so I stayed upstairs to see if it would be alright." She looked up thoughtfully at the ceiling, it was like she was there all over again. She could even smell the wood smoke.

"When my daddy answered I could hear it was Auntie Amy and she was really upset. I was worried so I stayed where I was to make sure it wasn't bad news about Uncle Rory, or Jamie. It was then she told Daddy all about you. Uncle Rory was at work, Jamie was at his grandparents. I think she was lonely. I didn't know it was _you_ at the time, but she talked about her baby girl who was taken, and who she never got to buy Christmas presents for."

Zara returned her gaze to River who's eyes were still brimming, but she was listening intently, hanging on every word.

"The one that was taken and locked up and hurt and she didn't see until she was grown up. Until she was you I guess. Then she went on to say she was terrified something had happened to her baby since she hadn't seen you since Jamie had been born. She had been really excited to have you meet your little brother and play with him, but that nobody had heard from you in years." Zara shrugged, she had no idea what those words might mean to River,

"She even asked a doctor who I think knew you, but she couldn't get any answers. It wasn't until Auntie Amy called you her daughter before we fell that it all made sense." Zara stopped, she was clearly relieved to have all of that off her chest. She was naturally an honest and responsible girl. She hated having to hide things and worried about being found out.

"So, they didn't hide him. They weren't ashamed of you, they just didn't know where you were."

River couldn't speak, she had no idea what pain she had caused her parents without knowing it. But it didn't make her feel guilty, she was glad she knew the truth. If she knew the truth she could change things. She was suddenly aware that she had unconsciously reached out to Zara and was hugging her, holding on for dear life. Amy was fighting back tears of her own. She had no intention of unknowingly piling more anxiety on a young girl than she should ever have to deal with at that age, but she was also relieved that River understood now. Relieved that she didn't have to try and explain it herself. She would be ever grateful to Zara for that.

"I can tell there's still a lot upsetting you, but I won't ask you to tell me. I know what grownups are like. I just wanted to help out with the bit I could," admitted Zara,

"Zara?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," beamed Zara,

River wiped her face and stood up, "Now let's get out of here,"

She grabbed Zara's hand and swung her to her feet so strongly she left the floor for a moment and screamed with laughter. Amy decided to make her presence known by sitting up and putting on a cough. She rubbed her head like she had just woken up.

"Oh good. Another cage," she rolled her eyes and stood up, the other two turned to look at her, "All ok?" they nodded, River's gaze met her own for a moment whilst they were silent, a mutual understanding passing between them.


	6. Chapter 6

"Daddy!" Jamie yelled as Rory appeared through the front door. Rory scooped up the boy and held him close. Anders looked at the pair of them from a doorway, his hair was mussed and his face was paler than normal,

"Anders? Worked anything out?" Rory asked as he came over, still holding Jamie, he could see how worried his friend was, "Don't worry. We'll get them back," he set Jamie down, "And they'll be safe with River," he noticed Anders deliberately not meeting his eye, "It's ok, I know Amy told you all about it."

Anders nodded hesitantly, "I just, didn't want you to think I was prying and keeping secrets."

"It's ok. I'm glad you were there to support Amy. Wish I could have been."

Jamie looked up at Rory, "Daddy? Is that River lady my sister?"

Rory knelt down to match his son's level, "Yes, Jamie, she is. Remember all the stories mummy and me told you? About The Doctor, and our adventures?" Jamie nodded, "And remember there was a woman that we kept seeing, but in the wrong order?"

Jamie was still agreeing, "You called her Mrs Doctor," he smiled remembering the stories.

"Well, that's River. She was taken away when she was a baby, and we kept looking for her, but didn't find her until much later, because you know what we say about time travelling,"

"It's full of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff," answered Jamie,

Rory nodded, "That can't be explained. Which is why it's just a secret between the five of us, ok? The Doctor and Mrs Doctor, if people started asking questions, it might get them in trouble. You understand don't you?"

"Of course!" Jamie replied, indignant that the thought he would tell even crossed Rory's mind, "But we have to save them now. Right?"

It was a fairly risky and stupid plan, but it was the only one they had. All they needed to do was find the exact same spot the other three had disappeared, and try and get The Guardians to trigger it. The two men grabbed what they could to defend themselves, though they were unsure how much use a cricket bat and a screwdriver would be, even though it was sonic. They ventured outside, the snow was blustering around them now and they battled through it to the field of possessed snowman. As soon as they stepped foot on the edge of the green, the icy sculptures awoke and they made themselves ready to barrel in. Until Jamie ran ahead of them quite unexpectedly,

"James Aaron Williams! Get back here right now!" demanded Rory.

But Jamie wasn't listening, instead he faced all the snowman who seemed to hesitate at his appearance, "Hey, you guys. We're not a threat to you or time, ok? Neither are my mummy or River, or Zara. They only attacked because they thought you were attacking them. You understand that don't you?"

Anders and Rory looked quite amazed that they weren't being penned in yet. Talking. Why had they not thought of that? They had assumed the worst. It was an understandable circumstance, the worse usually happened, but this seemed to be working. Jamie spoke well and reasonably.

"Now they really are in trouble, and we need you to help us find where they went. Things really will get messed up if we don't."

Rory and Anders decided to test the water, or the ice rather, and walked over, but instead of blocking their path, The Guardians cleared one for them and they rejoined Jamie. He and Anders suddenly disappeared into the floor, but Rory was cut off by an icy Guardian, only for a minute however, until the other two had completely gone. Only then was he let through to join them.

River had grabbed her sonic screwdriver and was trying every combination of settings available to get through it but it wasn't working. She groaned in annoyance. They had tried everything, from picking the lock in the conventional way, only to find it was electrified to trying to resonate it open. They resisted the urge to shoot it in case it rebounded. The worst thing was, they still had no idea why they had been kidnapped. Fortunately they were not kept in the dark for very long. The great doors of the throne room swung open to the sound of fanfare which scared them all half to death. Their captors in various shades of black and brown burst in, marching in formation, as a grey creature, the biggest of them all, adorned with fine dragonfly like wings, strode into the room and sat on the throne. When she was comfortable her servants fell silent, and they all focused on the trio in the cage.

"So, you finally got them then," said the Queen, who didn't sound impressed. "Took you long enough,"  
>"My apologies, Queen Rajani," it was the female black creature who stepped forward, "But we believe there was some confusion, due to unforeseen circumstances."<p>

"Is that right Maiara?" Rajani sniffed, "How can grabbing a child be confusing?"

Maiara stepped forward, regarding the cage, Amy and River stood protectively in front of Zara, "She was…younger…than we were hoping." Maiara frowned as she saw River, "This woman was an uncalculated event. We did not expect her,"

River scoffed, "Well I'm _so_ sorry I interrupted your plans."

Rajani did not seem convinced as she briefly glanced at her prisoners, "Why is she a factor?"

Maiara turned to her monarch, "The Guardians were strongly opposed to her presence. She alarmed them, and we were worried she would take the children for herself, so we had to speed up the plan."

"What do you even want with me?" protested Zara.

"Bring the child here, keep an eye on her bodyguards," commanded the Queen.

There was little any of them could do when some of the foot soldiers approached the cage. Thy simple reached out one of their many legs and a door slid aside. River and Amy were cut off by spare shoulders as Zara was prodded ahead of the others, to stand in front of Rajani. She looked tiny in comparison to the beasts and the hall they were in. She met the Queen's eye but her fist were clenched to try and hide the fact that they were shaking. She leaned forwards, inspecting the girl, who resisted the urge to step backwards away from her, she didn't like bugs at the best of times.

"If you value your interfering guardians, you'll tell me exactly what I want to know."

Zara remained silent, and Rajani took that as confirmation of her request. "So. Where is he?"

The girl's mind immediately set on Jamie for some reason, but the truth was, she had no idea where he was. Last she had seen of him she was falling down a hill. "I don't know," she replied honestly.

This was not the right answer, Rajani hissed in annoyance, "Don't lie to me girl! Tell me where your little friend is!"

"I'm not lying. I don't know. I don't even know where I am."

"You're dead if you don't start talking!"

"But I don't! I don't know where my friend is!" Zara's voice was gradually rising pitch as she got more panicky, but she couldn't resist the urge to add, "And if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"

That was not the response Rajani wanted either. She riled up and smacked Zara across the face, sending her clean across the room, narrowly missing hitting the cage where Amy and River shot forward, shoving their keepers out of the way. They got a fair way, right next to the girl who was lying on the floor, before the Queen's armed guards grabbed them, holding rapier-sharp metal legs at their throats. Zara struggled to her feet, trying not to cry, she had landed hard and it hurt like anything.

"You will tell me where The Doctor is or I kill all three of you, SLOWLY!"

Zara's look of defiance was gradually replaced by an expression of utter confusion, "Who?"

"The Doctor!"

"The Doctor? Like the one everyone keeps telling me about?"

"Now that's more like it. Tell me."

"You mean you don't know he's not real? He's just a character. Part of a story. He doesn't exist."

Rajani was gearing up to attack again, until Maiara deftly stepped in front of her and she hesitated, "Maiara, start talking."

"It's possible, My Lady, that the brat is telling the truth."

"What?"

Maiara didn't even flinch, she wasn't afraid of her monarch. She was her most trusted advisor, she was key in the court, "As I said previously, I fear our calculation may be slightly off. By a mere fraction, but off nonetheless. The Guardian's uprising fast forwarded our plans. It is entirely feasible that she doesn't know The Doctor. It is also entirely feasible that if we kill her now, she will no longer be of use to us."

"I'm disappointed in you Maiara."

"That is a fair judgement My Lady, but I fear this mistake was inevitable. If the blonde one hadn't arrived I doubt this would have happened."

"Fine! Turn the girl loose, but we don't need the others."

That's just what they did, the guards around Zara left off and returned to their positions, which was just the chance she needed. She ran ahead, barrelling into the ones surrounding River and Amy and planted herself firmly in the middle of them and the guards who immediately stopped their advance.

"You can't have me alive without them alive too." She declared, "If I go, they're coming with me, and if they're hurt, you won't get to keep me either."

Rajani had a strange mix of annoyance and some sort of hidden admiration on her face, "What a stupid thing to do. Why on earth would you risk yourself to protect them? You could be home free without one of them and you wouldn't be here in the first place if not for the other."

Amy and River were astounded by how mature and decisive Zara sounded in her explanation, "Because that's what I do."

You had to admire the seven year olds guts, and it was clear that the same thought crossed Rajani's mind. She called off her guards and they all processed out of the throne room. Rajani briefly glanced back over her shoulder at Zara, staring intently at her for a moment, before the door was closed behind them. Only Maiara was left behind to give them directions.

"I'll see you again, won't I?" stated Zara as they turned to leave.

"Inevitably," responded Maiara as she vanished through the door.

Just as she did the smaller doors opposite the way she had gone flew open, and in ran Anders, Rory and Jamie, up in arms and panting furiously. Only to find themselves confronted by their three startled counterparts who were merely standing in the huge throne room, seemingly unscathed. Rory and Jamie ran forward and almost knocked Amy over with the force of hugging her as River politely stayed back. The only evidence of their ordeal was a red welt across one side of Zara's face. Anders hurried forward and scooped her up, looking at her injury in despair.

"Zara! My girl! What happened? Are you alright?"

Zara smiled, "Nothing we couldn't handle," she answered, grinning at River over her father's shoulder, "Right?"

"Right." River agreed, though somewhat subdued.

Amy walked forward and put an arm around her, "We should go home. Lots to catch up on."

As Zara was set down by Anders she ran merrily on over to Jamie, "I have an awesome story to tell you!"


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was Christmas Eve, and it was hard to believe that only a day ago snowmen had come to life and giant stick insects had kidnapped three of the people that were fast asleep in the Ponds' house. Amy and Rory were happily sleeping in their rooms, and Anders was in the spare next to them. However, the two children, Jamie and Zara, had crept out of Jamie's bunk beds and snuck downstairs to wait for Santa Claus, in the living room, where River had claimed the sofa for the few days she had decided to stay. She had stirred when the young pair came in, but promised not to tell their parents if they went to sleep. She would wake them when he arrived. River was not in the living room at the moment though, she had carefully separated herself from the two children that had fallen asleep on her and gone outside for some air, so only Jamie and Zara were left.

A real fire was crackling in the hearth, only just beginning to fade, and the lights twinkled on the Christmas tree as the best friends were curled up on the sofa, using each other as pillows. A shadow appeared just in front of it, dressed in a red suit with big black boots. He was as quiet as possible as he pulled out presents from a big brown sack, putting them under the tree. But he dropped one and it made a slight thud. He froze in place as he heard movement behind him.

"Hello Santa," came a quiet voice behind him.

It was Zara, she was clearly still half asleep, dressed in pink fleecy pyjamas and yawning as she sat up. Jamie was snoring quite happily away behind her. Santa turned around sheepishly and met her eye, she came over and helped him neatly put away what he had dropped and stacked the others' gifts. She didn't even bother looking at her own.

"Sorry I'm late," apologised The Doctor.

"It's ok. I knew you were on the way," she withdrew a folded piece of paper from the front pocket of her pyjama top, "Your letter said you wanted to see me, Doctor, and I waited. It's about time you explained yourself."

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but Zara covered it as Jamie stirred slightly. She grabbed his hand and lead him out to the hallway, closing the door quietly behind them and sitting on the stairs. The Doctor didn't really know how to react. She was much younger than he had anticipated, but he could tell she understood a lot more than your average child.

"You met her then?" he asked, and she nodded, not saying a word, "I'm sorry about the timing, it all got a little bit mixed up."

"That's alright. You weren't the only one who got it wrong," she shuddered slightly, remembering Rajani and Maiara, "What do you want me to do?"

"It's not like that," protested The Doctor,

"Yes it is. I know all about you, you wouldn't have written to me if something wasn't bothering you. It's River, isn't it?"

"How did you…?"

"I can just tell. She's in trouble isn't she? And you can't help. Am I right?"

"Well…" the Doctor tried to think of some kind of excuse but couldn't. He sighed, resigned, and flopped down on to the staircase next to Zara. "Yes, you are. You're possibly the only person in the entire universe that can," this was not the kind of thing he felt comfortable about laying on a seven year old, but she was smart enough to have worked most things out, and good natured enough to help in any way she could.

"Why?"

"Because…" it was something difficult to explain, "Because, you match."

"We _match_? But she's grown up. And blonde."

"I mean, your timelines. Your timelines match. Amy and Rory have told you everything, I know…" he paused, "Actually, when did you realise they weren't just stories?"

"When I saw River watching me from the park."

The Doctor nodded, that keen sense of observation and empathy was very clear in the girl's demeanour. She was confident, because she could read people, possibly better than they could read themselves. That was what made her so good at connecting with them, knowing how to act around them, and how to change their moods. It was an ability only children could boast. As people got older they didn't get wiser, they got more cynical and sceptical. It was a very rare occurrence in adults, not losing their belief and concern for everyone else. They had bills to pay, jobs to go to and families to take care of. As far as they were concerned, it was each to their own. But he could tell that very moment that Zara was not one of them, and though he was more reserved, Jamie was not either.

"So, what do you mean our timelines match?" pressed Zara, interrupting his thoughts.

"The rest of us, me, Amy, Rory, even Jamie to a degree, we are never on the same page as River. She has always done something we haven't, or we've already met someone that she hasn't. We don't live life in the right order, and because of that, we can never truly know one another. Her past is my future, and her future is my past. We can never properly be together. Amy and Rory couldn't help her through her childhood, Jamie can't know her properly as his big sister. But you. You're from the same time as her. You know everything about her up to this point. This is the first time you have met her, and you're the only other person she has interacted with that doesn't know her future. The only person who can support her through it," heart breaking emotion was seeping into the Doctor's voice and Zara linked her arm through his, not quite sure what else she could do, "Even if you don't see each other for a while, you'll still be moving in the same direction."

The pair of them fell silent, individually running through their heads everything that the Doctor had said. It was a lot to take on board in one conversation, and there was the additional risk of someone else waking up and finding the 'dead' Doctor sitting on the stairs having a chat. It was common knowledge he had faked his own death, but it didn't mean he no longer had to keep under the radar. There were some things the world shouldn't know.

"OK," Zara eventually said,

The Doctor was confused, "OK what?"

"I'll look after her for you. That's what you want, isn't it? Someone to take care of your wife when you can't."

"Yea. I guess that's right…" he looked at her, "How can you know that? And why are you so calm about it at the age of seven?"

"I escaped from civil war light years away when I was a baby, according to daddy. I think I can add River to my friend list. Besides, if anyone complains, I can just turn into a bear and eat them."

The Doctor laughed, "She's in safe paws then."

"The safest paws, gills, fins, tails and whiskers."

The Doctor grinned as he stood up, "Thank you."

Zara stood up too, and shrugged, "Just don't forget to come say hi sometimes, ok?"

He nodded, "I better go. Merry Christmas, Zara Violet Conrad."

"Happy New Years, Santa."

The Doctor disappeared into the kitchen and out of the back door. Zara knew she wouldn't see him for a while, but he would be watching. As she was looking in the direction he had gone, the front door opened and a cold breeze blew across her back and face. She turned around and saw a shivering River shutting it behind her, warming her hands under her arms.

"Zara? What are you doing up? Thought I heard you talking to somebody."

Zara grinned, "Oh, just Santa,"

River raised an amused eyebrow. "Right. Well, I'm frozen, chai?"

Zara nodded and River wandered over and ruffled the girl's hair. As she withdrew her hand, Zara took it, like a child would her parent's, and it seemed perfectly natural as they walked after the Doctor together.


End file.
